The Prehistory of Modern Economic Thought: The Aristotle in Austrian Theory

Hesiod, Democritus, Xenophon, and Aristotle provided significant insights into economic theory through praxeological deduction. Stoic thought presents a coherent notion of natural law. Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Pao Chingyen, and Ssu-ma Chíien, Taoists in Ancient China, provide insight into the spontaneous order of the market and the effects of government intervention. The Late Scholastics, including Jean de Pierre Olivi, Albornoz, Mercado, Saint Bernadino, and Juan de Mariana, contribute to the economic discussion of utility theory, international trade, private property, the nature of government, and currency debasement.